021. The Water Is Cut Off... No, It's Not—It's the Senior Brother of the Shiranui School

Mai blinked in surprise. How much money? She had intended to talk about feelings, and here he was talking about money? Wait a minute, the dojo belonged to her—if they talked about feelings, it would be her wallet that suffered!

“Ahem! Well, the details of the tuition haven’t been finalized yet, and as for you…” Mai began, but before she could finish, Hanzo bustled in through the door.

“You’re the one Mai has taken a liking to, and you’re the first student of our dojo. Forget about tuition for now—consider this a three-month trial. If you feel you’ve learned something, then you can pay. If not, you’re free to leave,” Hanzo declared.

Hearing this, Su Ye couldn’t help but wonder if he’d come to the Shiranui Dojo or some kind of technical college. A three-month free trial—guaranteed instruction, and no tuition if he didn’t master it? Was the Shiranui school always this generous? No, it’s our Shiranui school now—was it always so open-handed?

Since he’d come here to learn, and now he could even do so for free, Su Ye had no reason to refuse. After a simple initiation ceremony, Su Ye officially became the senior disciple of the not-yet-opened Shiranui Dojo.

Senior disciple of the Shiranui school—it sounded a shade more impressive than being the senior disciple of the Water-Splitting school.

That afternoon, with nothing else to do and the dojo still closed to the public, no one came to disturb them. Hanzo wasted no time and began teaching Su Ye directly, with Mai serving as his sparring partner.

“I’m going to teach you a technique from the Shiranui style—it’s called ‘Bone Method’.”

The Bone Method was neither a form of massage nor face-reading, but a close-combat fighting technique, somewhat akin to Wing Chun, though with subtle differences. The footwork was more covert, specializing in close-quarters combat, and its movements could disrupt the opponent’s sense of distance.

In “Fatal Fury” and “King of Fighters,” Andy Bogard’s main discipline was the Bone Method.

Speaking of Andy Bogard, this was likely the new identity Su Ye would assume after unlocking the “Mai’s Boyfriend” event.

Andy Bogard—the man who, all over the internet, was jealously called “the guy who’s played with his wife.” Ahem.

Andy never achieved Mai’s level of fame. Even within the Fatal Fury team, he wasn’t as popular as his elder brother, Terry Bogard, or the Muay Thai expert Joe Higashi.

Terry’s style was fierce and explosive; in the story, he even mastered authentic Ba Ji Quan, founded his own comprehensive fighting school, and his moves were always jaw-dropping.

Joe, as a Muay Thai master, needed no introduction—flying kicks, elbow strikes, tornado attacks, all with both impact and spectacle.

In comparison, Andy’s character was neither as ferocious nor as flashy, and often went overlooked. If not for having a sizzling, hip-swaying girlfriend…

Well, just that alone was enough to evoke envy, jealousy, and resentment—everyone wanted to be his friend. Even Su Ye would rather play Andy than Terry, despite Blue Mary’s own allure.

If only he could have both, he thought with a chuckle.

Andy and Terry were both orphans adopted as children, with no blood relation. Later, their adoptive father was murdered, setting them both on a path of vengeance.

But in this world, Su Ye wasn’t an orphan. His own father was alive and well back home, so he had no idea how the system would handle this character’s storyline.

After becoming an apprentice, he even placed an international call to his father to ask if he’d been adopted or if he had some long-lost half-brother.

His father’s response was a tirade of insults. “You don’t call for ages, and when you do, it’s to ask something this ridiculous? Just wait until I fly over there and beat you into an orphan myself!”

That reassurance was enough for Su Ye—anyone who could scold him so confidently must be his real father.

Still, what kind of logic was it to threaten to beat your own son into an orphan? Wouldn’t you have to take yourself out first?

In any case, Su Ye had no clue about the plotlines awaiting him at the Shiranui Dojo, or if there would even be any new developments. All he could do was take things one step at a time.

Back to his training at the dojo: though the Bone Method was interesting, what really fascinated Su Ye was Mai’s ability to conjure fire.

Unlike Kyo Kusanagi, who was born with the ability to control flames, Mai’s techniques—Dragon Flame Dance, Phoenix Dance, Secret Art Swallow—could all unleash fire attacks.

Yet, Andy Bogard never seemed to learn this power. He could “power up,” but as for creating fire, that skill eluded him. Was this a closely guarded secret of the Shiranui school?

As a newcomer, Su Ye knew better than to demand to learn their most treasured techniques right away. The Bone Method was impressive enough; once he mastered it, he could face the Green Goblin head-on.

Besides, by focusing on the Bone Method first, he could work on building Mai’s affection or maybe, one day, inherit the dojo. There would always be cake to savor later.

Su Ye was young—he could afford to wait.

As Su Ye followed Hanzo in learning the Bone Method, elsewhere in a luxurious penthouse owned by the Osborn family, Norman Osborn, suffering from schizophrenia, was busy demolishing his own home.

His encounter with the glider and that meteor hammer ride the previous night hadn’t been fatal. Norman had previously taken a performance-enhancing serum developed by his company, a drug similar to the super-soldier serum once used by Captain America. It hadn’t changed his physique, but it had multiplied his strength many times over. The side effect was a split personality—a violent alter ego, the Green Goblin.

Thanks to his enhanced body and the protection of his flight suit, Norman’s injuries were minor. The worst was when he crashed into a lightning rod, leaving him with a distinctly male sense of regret.

After finally making it home by controlling the glider with his wrist remote, Norman slipped straight into a manic rage.

His mission had gone perfectly—those board members who’d dared to betray him were all blown to pieces by his pumpkin bombs.

But the ending was infuriating—he’d been outsmarted.

Following the traces of webbing, Norman tapped into his network and quickly acquired some information from the police.

The one who had interfered was New York’s friendly neighborhood hero, the nocturnal vigilante known as Spider-Man.

“Spider-Man!”

The thought that he’d been foiled by a masked, skulking nobody sent Norman into a destructive frenzy, reducing his home to rubble.

By now, the Green Goblin’s malevolent persona had taken full control. It was fortunate Harry was in the hospital—otherwise, he’d have been caught in the crossfire.

“I will find you! I will kill you! Or…”

The Green Goblin’s voice faltered, his face twisting into a sinister, wicked grin.

“Or perhaps, invite you to join us!”